What does "scorch" mean?
A slight or surface burn.
Scorch
/skɔːtʃ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A slight or surface burn.
- Grammar: scorch is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abrade, abrasion, air-dry, anhydrate.
- Useful contrasts: commend, cool, cooling.
- Usage evidence: You can still see the scorch marks from last week's fire.
How to use "scorch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scorch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scorch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scorch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scorch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scorch" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abrade" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scorch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A slight or surface burn. countable, uncountable
- 2 a discoloration caused by heat wordnet
- 3 A discolouration caused by heat. countable, uncountable
- 4 a plant disease that produces a browning or scorched appearance of plant tissues wordnet
- 5 Brown discoloration on the leaves of plants caused by heat, lack of water or by fungi. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 a surface burn wordnet
Verb
- 1 To burn the surface of something so as to discolour it transitive
- 2 become scorched or singed under intense heat or dry conditions wordnet
- 3 To wither, parch or destroy something by heat or fire, especially to make land or buildings unusable to an enemy transitive
"Lashed by mad rage, and scorched by brutal fires."
- 4 make very hot and dry wordnet
- 5 (To cause) to become scorched or singed ergative
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color wordnet
- 7 To move at high speed (so as to leave scorch marks on the ground, physically or figuratively). intransitive
"Men on cycles, lean-faced, unkempt, scorched along every country lane, shouting of unhoped deliverance, shouting to gaunt, staring figures of despair."
- 8 destroy completely by or as if by fire wordnet
- 9 To burn; to destroy by, or as by, fire.
"Power was given unto him to scorch men with fire."
- 10 become superficially burned wordnet
- 11 To attack with bitter sarcasm or virulence. transitive
- 12 subject to harsh criticism wordnet
- 13 To ride a bicycle furiously on a public highway. colloquial, dated, intransitive
Example
"You can still see the scorch marks from last week's fire."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scorch"?
Common synonyms include: abrade, abrasion, air-dry, anhydrate, assail, attack.
How do you use "scorch" in a sentence?
You can still see the scorch marks from last week's fire.
How do you pronounce "scorch"?
Pronounced /skɔːtʃ/.
Etymology
From Middle English scorchen, scorcnen (“to make dry; parch”), perhaps an alteration of earlier *scorpnen, from Old Norse skorpna (“to shrivel up”).